How to Save Money with a Level 2 Smart EV Charger Without the Ontario Incentive

Ontario’s government has taken a big step back in the electrification of transport in the province by cancelling the subsidies on charging stations and electric cars. The removal of these incentives has restricted the
access to faster EV charging at home because they covered a significant amount of the cost of a 240V EV charger.

That being said, even without the subsidies, installing a smart level 2 EV charger at home, like the Ontario-made JuiceBox Pro
or the Quebec-made EVduty, can still save you a lot of money. Keep reading to find out how much you could save in Ontario cities like Toronto, Ottawa, and Mississauga.

Charging During Off-Peak Hours With A Smart Charger

Smart level 2 EV chargers like the JuiceBox Pro
or the EVduty can help you to benefit from the Ontarian electricity rate system. Indeed, these stations allow you to schedule charging times in advance, allowing you to plug your car and delay your car’s charging until a more convenient
time.

That feature makes it easy to skip the On-Peak/Mid-Peak period of 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and start charging only after 7:00 PM when the Off-Peak rate begins. This ensures that you charge at a much lower cost (¢6.5/kWh
instead of ¢13.2/kWh in september 2018). This feature can save you hundreds of dollars every year!

The Savings by the Numbers

Let’s start with an example. An electric car driver drives 25,000 km every year. They set their JuiceBox Pro charger station to charge their car only during Off-Peak hours. By doing that instead of using the default
setting of charging as soon as you plug, they can expect to save between $260 and $300 a year, depending on the EV.

If another driver were to drive 20,000 km annually, they could save between $210 and $250 by charging only Off-peak, while a third driver taking the same precautions and driving 15,000 km per year would save between $140 and $180 every
year. As you can see, the more you drive—and therefore charge—, the higher your savings will be, as long as you use your station correctly. That being said, another aspect of those savings is the kWh consumption of your electric vehicle,
which usually varies between 14kWh/100 km and 19kWh/100 km for most cars like the Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan LEAF, Tesla Model S 60, Kia Soul EV, Hyundai Ioniq, and Ford Focus EV. You can find the EVs consumption on our calculator.

With a smart level 2 EV charger, you should be able to save enough money to cover the cancellation of the $500 government subsidy in 1.5 to 3 years, depending on your annual mileage. After that, it’s money you keep in
your pockets for the years to come.

The Potential Savings in Toronto, Ottawa, and Mississauga

The Ontario Energy Board has a tool to estimate what your monthly electricity consumption could cost you. The following example
estimates the cost of consumption of a Toronto resident with an annual mileage of 25,000 km, which translates to around 355 kWh used to charge each month (based on the average consumption of the EVs mentioned above).

The screenshot above shows the cost of charging your electric vehicle with a smart level 2 charger during Off-Peak hours while the one on the right is the cost to charge with a basic level 2 charger during On-Peak periods.

You can also benefit from the Off-Peak rates to charge your electric car if you live in another Ontarian city. Here is the same example as above applied to Ottawa and Mississauga. The savings can vary from one city to
another and from one electricity provider to another.

Ottawa

Mississauga

Why the Scheduling Feature is Essential to Save on Charging Costs in Ontario

The best habit an electric car driver can have is to plug their car when they come home from work to be sure to have a full charge the next day. With a standard ev charger, the charging will start as soon as the car is
plugged in. The problem with that is that most people come home during the On-Peak or Mid-Peak periods and will pay up to twice the price of the Off-Peak period. Waiting for the Off-Peak period to plug the EV to the charger is a
possibility, until you’re drinking your coffee in the morning and realize that you forgot to plug your car the previous evening. These oversights can happen and cause you unnecessary stress, make you late to work, and break your routine.

With smart stations like the JuiceBox Pro or the EVduty Smart-Home, you don’t even have to think about it, because you’ll take really fast to the habit of plugging your EV as soons as you come home from work. By programming your smart EV
station to only start charging at 7:00 PM, you’ll be able to enjoy your evening without having to constantly remind yourself to plug your electric car. That way, you can be sure to have a fully charged battery every morning, and to save
hundreds of dollars every year.

If you are interested in optimizing your charging schedule and save money, check out the the smart chargers in our store, which are WiFi enabled and boast smart features like charging scheduling.